Having gathered wealth, silver, and gold, a devoted person approaches the sacred rite, offering these treasures with reverence and uttering, “Salutations to the Infinite.” He performs the worship exactly as it was prescribed before, following each step with devotion. In particular, he should present to me blue garments, which are dear to me, and ornaments that I cherish. With every offering, he proclaims, “Salutations to Narayana,” and may then express his heartfelt wishes as he desires. At this moment, he should recite a mantra: “You, who are yourself resplendent with the radiance of moonbeams, whose hue is like the conch and jasmine—beautiful in form, endless, immortal, the destroyer and the cause, easily attained yet hard to reach, excellent and radiant—unto you, with a mind united in devotion, I offer this prāpaṇa.” Again, he recites, “Salutations to Narayana,” and prays, “O Lord, O Ananta, O Supreme Person, accept this prāpaṇa.” For the well-being of all worlds, he then utters the invocation of peace. He acknowledges the night, the two twilights, the stars, the planets, and all the directions, offering salutations to the unmoving and the moving, to those who move with others, to the sky-movers and the swift, to the lotus-radiant and the arisen—salutations to all beings established as Vāsudeva. There, he honors the devotees according to his means and ability. In that sacred place, he feeds the Brāhmaṇas and worships the guru with the appropriate mantra. With palms joined, he bows to the Brāhmaṇas and to his own family. Then, after honoring the guru with gifts and respect, he venerates the Lord. The drops of water that fall at the end of the meal are regarded with reverence. Whoever, wise and devoted, worships in this manner achieves the merit of establishing my silver image. The same procedure applies if the image is of gold as with silver. The fruits of worship gained from wooden, stone, bronze, and silver images are all comparable, each bestowing great merit. O beautiful one, such worship delivers twenty-one thousand families from suffering. All this, O Earth, I have told you in response to your question. Hearing these words, Earth asks, “You abide in all these forms and especially in Śālagrāma. How many should be worshipped in a household, and is there any distinction in worship? What are the rules for worshipping Shiva and others? In a house, two lingas should not be worshipped, nor three Śālagrāma stones. Likewise, two chakras from Dwaraka or two images of Surya should not be worshipped. A pair of Śālagrāma stones may be worshipped, but two together among pairs should not be.” “O Earth, those images that are burned by fire or broken in the house should never be worshipped. However, a broken Śālagrāma stone with its chakra intact may still be worshipped; even if fractured or cracked, the auspicious Śālagrāma stone remains fit for worship. O Devi, know that there are twelve types of stones arising from Śālagrāma.” “By worshipping twelve crore lingas with golden lotuses, or by worshipping a hundred Śālagrāma stones with devotion, immense merit is attained. Images of all deities are to be worshipped by people of every caste. However, O Earth, Śālagrāma stones should not be touched by those of inferior caste. If, through ignorance, a Shudra or a woman touches it—O Earth, if devotion is present in them, or in women—by drinking the water that has washed the feet of the stone, all sins are destroyed. Through association with the Śālagrāma stone, purification always occurs.” “Hear now of the merit that arises when the Śālagrāma stone is accompanied by gold. O Earth, when the ocean itself is given to a worthy recipient, even then the fruit of this worship cannot be described, not even in a hundred years. This secret concerning the installation of images has now been revealed to you, and so has the procedure at the beginning of worship. What else, O Earth, do you wish to hear?